1978 Topps Image Inventory

[deweyinthehall]

1978 Topps Orioles

I'll bang one out tonight.

In 1978, Topps used 27 images on Orioles cards, not counting Dennis Blair and Nelson Briles which were paint jobs.

One image, Mark Belanger, was taken in a spring stadium, almost certainly in the spring of 1977 (which I will default to in later posts). It is hard to tell if he is wearing his home whites or away light grays. It doesn't look like Miami Stadium from the images I've seen so this remains an unknown location to me.

The small B&W image of Earl Weaver as a player appears to have been taken when he was with either the Fitzgerald Orioles in 1957 or the Dublin Orioles in 1958 as a player/manager, the only two clubs he was with that went by Orioles, and there is clearly a bird on his cap.

Larry Harlow's photo was taken in Memorial Stadium either before June 2 when he went to Rochester, or in September when he returned. His long sleeves don't give anything away as both periods likely had chilly games.

Brooks Robinson's Record Breaker card was, to the best of my ability to identify, taken in Milwaukee County Stadium (the light poles and the outfield bleachers seem to be a match) during the O's visits in April, June or July, but given his long sleeves, it was probably snapped in April.

The following images were taken in Yankee Stadium during the club's visits there 5/19-5/22 or 7/26-7/28, with long sleeves possibly indicating the earlier visit and short the latter: Singleton (long), D. Martinez (Long), Bumbry (long), Weaver, Dempsey (short), T. Martinez (long), Muser (long), May (long) and Palmer (short).

Rudy May and Scott McGregor are shown in Yankee Stadium in action shots in long sleeves. Assuming this means a May visit, then these images were taken when they each started one end of a double header on May 22 (May game 1, McGregor game 2).

The following images were taken when the Orioles visited Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, either 5/13-5/15 or 8/1-8/2 (same logic with sleeves): DeCinces (long), Dauer (long), Garcia, Flanagan (long), Skaggs (short), Kelly, Smith, Grimsley and Murray (long). However, Mora's image shows him in long sleeves, and he was only there for the August series, so that sort of screws things up.

The image of Palmer on the Victory Leaders card was inexplicably taken sometime between 1966 and 1971 when the team wore that kind of road uniform. Looks like a spring shot.

Finally, the team photo - because of the presence of Tony Chevez, it had to be taken during a homestand, either 6/14-6/16 or 6/20-6/24.